The agency issued the Federal Supervisory Training Framework that details three levels of competencies for new or existing managers. The guidance is one of several initiatives OPM put forward over the past few years to improve employee leadership skills.

Federal employee satisfaction on nearly every measure dropped this year, according to the 2012 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. Complaints about federal pay mostly fueled feds' declining morale. But former federal human-capital officials also pointed to the role of senior agency leaders.

Chris Inglis, the deputy director of the
National Security Agency, said agencies need
good managers and leaders, as well as employees
with specific skill sets. He said NSA's balance
between the three is helping it succeed at its
core missions.

Two former federal human-capital experts joined In Depth with Francis Rose for a for a conversation about leadership and management at federal agencies: Jeff Neal, former CHCO at the Homeland Security Department, now a senior vice president at ICF International; and Ron Sanders, the first CHCO of the Intelligence Community, who's now a senior executive adviser at Booz Allen Hamilton.

Efficient recruitment and hiring practices might seem like a hard get at a high-security agency like NSA. But Kathy Hutson, the director of human resources at the National Security Agency, says the hiring protocols at her agency today demostrate all the reforms the Office of Personnel Management is recommending for the rest of government.

The Pentagon recently announced it would open up 14,000 combat positions to female troops. While women in uniform say the decision will lend "legitimacy" to the frontline roles they already fill, they say job discrimination pales in comparison to the difficulty of raising a family while serving.